PERSIAN poet Hafiz says: “The pen lacks the tongue or the power to reproduce the story of love. In fact, even the craving for union is beyond expression!”
Sassi was the daughter of a Brahman Hindu from Rohri who was thrown into the Indus. However, she was saved by a washer-man belonging to Bhanbhor, near Gharo district, Thatta. The washer-man raised her as his own daughter.
At last a man named Punnu (Punhoon) from Balochistan married her. However, his father, Ari, the King of Ketch, did not like his son getting married to a low-caste girl, so he instructed his other sons to go to Bhanbhor and bring back Punnu at any cost. They visited Punnu as his guests and during the night they intoxicated him and his wife. Later, they put their brother on one of the camels and left. When Sassi woke up in the morning, she was shocked to find Punnu missing and all his brothers gone. She understood their trickery. She left Bhambhor immediately on foot in search of him.
After crossing Pub Mountain, she reached the Harho range. She could not proceed further when her path was blocked by the Phor River. So she started retracing her steps. Soon she was accosted by a beastly goatherd who intended to molest her. Sassi prayed to God for protection. Immediately the ground below her feet started caving in like quicksand and she disappeared within seconds. Seeing the miracle, the goatherd repented sincerely, and to make amends for his misconduct, he made a grave in the site and became its custodian.
Punnu found no peace of mind at Kech. He languished and soon became an invalid. Under the circumstances, his father allowed him to return to Bhambhor.
During his return journey, Punnu happened to pass by the site where Sassi had met her death. When the goatherd came to know his story, he told him as to what had happened to Sassi. Punnu was beside himself on hearing the horrible news.
He prayed to God to unite him with Sassi. Again the ground became quicksand and he soon disappeared into the bowels of the earth. So came to an end the tragic love story of Sassi and Punnu.
Sassi’s resting place is said to be about 45 miles away in the Pub range to the west of Karachi. A local man of some importance, Haji Muhammad, constructed a simple mausoleum in 1980 over the joint grave of Sassi and Punnu. It is often visited by tourists.
DR ALI AKBAR M. DHAKAN Karachi
